


Suits and Tattoos

by supercalifragili



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Anal Sex, M/M, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-18
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-25 17:40:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2630555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercalifragili/pseuds/supercalifragili
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Now I have no problem with the case in itself, but Mr. Servia asked for your help and since this is the first case I am going to have against you, I'll need to have a formal meeting with you Mr. Payne. We could discuss the details of the case over a glass of wine” Zayn concludes over line with a clap of hands.</p><p>Or, Liam and Zayn are lawyers working on a case against eachother. People say don't mix work with pleasure, but an incentive is always good, sometime. Or all the time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> GAH. I don't know how and why? It's just that Zayn and Liam... Yeah, that's the reason.  
> But yeah, here is it and I'm sorry for any mistake you'll find.  
> Hope you enjoy your reading and that you'll like this a little bit and yeah, okay... I'm gonna go.  
> 

“Liam, Mr. Malik is calling from line three” Louis boringly mentions on the line when Liam picks up the phone.

Liam sets the last stack of papers by the corner of his desk, a flush rising on his cheeks as Louis snickers evilly on the line- something he does way too much recently- and Liam shouldn’t be okay with that, but the fact is that he is okay with that because Mr. Malik is calling him from the building next to him.

He fixes the pens discarded by Harry when he first came in the morning with his rushing self and a chaotic tornado of limbs and hair that messed all the papers around

“Okay Louis, and don’t eavesdrop” Liam warns light-heartedly. He turns his chair to the glass window in front of him and walks to stand in front of the view of the city under him, yellow cars and people walking and seeming like ants in his eyes

“As if you can stop me from doing just that” Louis challenges him funnily

“Lou-” Liam shuts his eyes closed, massaging his temples, his headache starting to form as he sigh heavily on the phone

“Okay okay, you take away the fun from everything” Louis huffs “Pain relievers are in the second drawer to the left” he clicks off with a loud _Wanker!_ resonating from the door of his office. The glass door blurs the frame of a middle finger thrown by Louis, Liam chuckles and sets his bluetooth in his ear and breaths in switching the earpiece on.

“Liam” it’s the first thing Liam hears and his heart skips a bit, threatening to fall from the 56th floor of his building.

He sidesteps the furry plush turtle Brooklyn gifted him on his birthday with a tooth-missing smile; he picks it up squishing it in his hands, some bristles of blue fur falling from the toy, he hopes it’s a stress reliever because his heart picks up quickly at the sound of Zayn's soothing voice on the phone

“Zayn, good?” he asks quickly pressing the toy tightly in his fist, watching as it deforms and returns back to its state, he might need to buy another one to make sure Brooklyn won’t pout sadly when she’ll see how it has become now.

“No actually, I have a case pending right in front of me and do you know what’s it about?” Zayn enquires casually

“What’s it about?” Liam chews his lips.

“Mr. Pascal is asking an immediate repay of five hundred thousand dollars from Mr. Servia’s requested loan in 2008. Did you know about that?” his voice inquires.

“I spoke to Mr. Servia myself three days ago, Mr. Malik” he sets the toy on the bookshelf along with the figurines of Batman and Buzz in front of books he actually never read, but his mum said _give the image of a proper lawyer_.

“Now I have no problem with the case in itself, but Mr. Servia asked for your help and since this is the first case I am going to have against you, I will need to have a formal meeting with you, Liam. We could discuss the details of the case over a glass of wine” Zayn concludes over line with a clap of hands.

Liam winces a little at the glass of wine part, mostly over the fact that it’s a formal meeting. He doesn’t do well in formal meetings.

“I hope you understand we stand on different basis with this” Liam clears in

“Obviously. Settled?”

“Settled, will be my pleasure to see you for the first time since you came back” he announces returning to the glass window eyeing the sky above his head. Clouds are starting to mass heavily in front of him, the chuckle in Zayn’s voice makes Liam smile, he doesn’t know which kind of chuckle that is, but from the pictures he’s seen of him after his return back in the states he guesses the chuckle would mostly look like a smirk on his smooth skin.

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Payne. Since l'Atelier de Joël Robuchon is permanently closed, is it alright for you to meet at Daniel at seven?”

“See you then, Mr. Malik” he breathes in, his heart still racing

“See you, Liam” the line clicks off and Liam breaths out. His legs feel a little sluggish as he walks back to his seat and untangles the tie on his collar, somewhat tightened after the call. Another trill of the phone startles him again as he recomposes himself in the seat, his back damp against the leather of his desk chair.

“So? Date?”

“I think I might have a severe case of internal bleeding occurring at the moment” he answers back on the line, Louis giggling like an idiot “Come here” he asks kindly and the door opens in a whim, revealing an excited Louis standing by it

“Damn you Liam! You have Zayn Malik, direct scion of Malik Law Firms asking you for a date, you bastard”

“Have you quite finished?”

“No, but tell me where he asked you out to eat”

“Daniel, the Boulud’s Daniel” Liam says casually, motioning for Louis to come in

“You rich fucks!” Louis exclaims closing the door behind him, a glint in his blue eyes as he advance towards the desk and sit on it not that kindly

“It’s about Mr. Servia Louis, and I already discussed with him how we are going to approach the plan, I just need to see how difficult Zayn is to budge-”

“Or to fuck” Liam glares as Louis infers lightly taking his jacket off, the white button-up starched and smoothened on his torso

“Who even has the time to starch your clothes?”

“Harry fucks me really well” Louis winks lewdly sitting on the desk chair when Liam stands up to call Mr. Servia and chats with him for a second over other contractual cases he had in the past.

“Thank you Liam, just- thank you”

“It’s alright Matteo, we’ll come out of this” Liam reassures him tapping on the end icon to put away the phone in his pocket. He turns around to watch Louis look at him from head to toe, a brow raised and a smile playing on his lips

“The settlement was decided over a frame of time ending exactly in two weeks, we could still work out a frame time in which Mr. Servia would be able to avoid paying that much interest if we can work on the last set of papers”

“That’s kind of the plan, I don’t want to reassure him too much of it since we still didn’t tackle the interest issue included in the contract. I think Mr. Pascal worked something else in a frame of a two year loan to pay back and I know Mr. Malik knows about that, just need to work on morality issues here” he fixes his tie again, Louis standing to helping up tying a loose knot and smoothing the collar under his suit’s jacket.

“Thanks, mate” Liam kisses his forehead quickly, Louis smiling and going out of the door

“That was not appropriate for a work environment” Louis chuckles lightly and flicks his chin teasingly

“Fucking in the vacant print room isn’t either” Liam counters with a wave and Louis hits back with two middle fingers instead

“That too” he laughs and Louis closes the door behind him with a click.

Liam settles back in his chair and opens the interests files given to him by Marilyn, Servia’s daughter, every month previous to the plaintiff bringing the case to the court- even after Mr. Servia himself begged him to have patience and let him pay slowly by the start of 2015. The necessity to pay the loan by the end of the month of November seemed fishy to him from the start but he guesses the tête-à-tête with Zayn is necessary.

A stutter in his heart catches him by surprise; he’s never actually seen Zayn in real life after he came back from England and most of the pictures of him were not clear. They’re lawyers, not celebrities, so obviously it would be impossible to catch him, furthermore they didn’t meet yet since his return back in the firm of his father, but Liam guesses talking with him on the phone because of the dullness of his office is always exciting.

Liam shrugs collecting the packs of folders in his hands and setting them in front of the coffee table to sit on his ruby fauteuil that is just by the window glass. His shoes clack on the wooden floor as he walks by the spacious space of his office, the cream coloured walls cleared of his usual frames and replaced with Brooklyn’s drawings and certifications of such form.

He sets his jacket down by its arm and sits comfortably starting to look at the contract Mr. Servia signed two years previous to this fateful case. The doorknob of his office turns and Harry yawns coming in unannounced with a cup of tea and sets in front of him to ruffle his hair gently, the extra care in putting gel just ruined by Harry’s careless fingers

“I hate it when you do that, H” he sighs

“It looks better like this, looks like you fucked somebody- which you don’t do on the regular” he puts in quietly, his tie a bit loose around his neck

“Is it that why you hair is like that?”

“It has its perks” he brushes it back quickly.

Liam lays the contract on the table and Harry sits on his lap unconcerned about work etiquette and rolls his eyes when Liam blocks him from nuzzling along the line of his neck

“You smell good” he grumbles offended “It’s not my fault” his grey pants wrinkle as he crosses his legs

“Zayn asked me out” he starts but stops himself “Well, it’s over Mr. Servia’s case, but he asked me out”

“And you sound like you’re about to die” Harry offers moving off him and sitting by the other fauteuil

“Well, I feel as if I’m going on blind date... meeting... date, okay” Liam corrects himself quickly, Harry nudges him with his polished black shoe

“Well it is, Malik doesn’t really go around, I’ve never seen him myself since he came back” Harry simply says “I know Perrie’s seen him coming out of his driver’s car” he adds chewing on his thumb

Liam sighs looking outside specks of sunshine hitting his legs, he just remembers Zayn when their fathers met six years ago, a raven haired boy with tussled hair and quite a tall quiff, two fondants of chocolate and caramel as eyes and soft smooth skin sitting by his side while their father talked over a glass of white wine. They didn’t make conversation, didn’t really try.

“Exactly, what if he’s-”

“Don’t start Liam, it’s just a meeting, everybody you go on a meeting with settles with an agreement fifteen minutes in. Your father’s firm is ranked nine point four on the most affluent and esteemed list so I guess you’re doing something good” he opens the packet of biscuits in front of him and takes one in his mouth “And really? You’re a good lawyer, don’t need anything more than that, a case it’s a case and Mr. Servia is a decent man, a nice talk with Zayn may give you more base on what to discuss in front of a jury” he chews bits of biscuits in the open packet

“Why aren’t you my legal assistant?”

“Because I’m happy reading Bukowski and not having to manage an entire firm in the middle of a busy New York City skyscraper between sleepless nights and the paucity of electrifying bathroom-print room-counter top kind of sex” Harry smiles reminding Liam how long is it that he didn’t actually go out with somebody apart from Niall for pints on a Friday night and spending weekends worrying about management and revenues in his empty flat.

Lam sighs returning to the contract after drinking his sugar-loaded tea and biting down biscuits as he goes “But really, just go with it Liam, it might even end nicely if Malik is understanding enough, if anything you can talk with the plaintiff too or gather the briefs to see if there were any other occurrences… Liam!”

“Yes! God Harry, really, why aren’t you my legal assistant?” he insists

“Shut up and call Leigh dammit Liam, why aren’t I your legal assistant?”

“That was my question!” He stands up buttoning the first button of his suit’s jacket and puts Leigh on the line

“Call Leigh!” Harry demands while buttoning his jacket too when he stands up, his hair styled and slicked back

“Doing that!”

A buzz on his pocket startles him, he takes out his phone unlocking the screen with his-

“One two three four” Harry rolls his eyes complimenting his unsophisticated passcode

_Zayn Malik_

_Don’t really wanna talk about Pascal and Servia ;)_

“Stop smiling like that Liam, it doesn’t look professional”


	2. Chapter 2

Liam steps inside his flat checking the clock by the entrance, minimalistic and clear in its digits signaling _it is quarter past ten_ ; he switches on the light, the tapping of Loki’s paws on the slick white pavement.

“Hey baby, you good?” he croons at Loki padding around his legs, the light clicking of his feet on the pavement as he walks to set his black briefcase on the stools by the counter.

He flicks the switch for the shutters to come down over the glass windows of his flat, light looking like fireflies as the blinds slide over the city. Switching on his speaker, Liam walks down the light coloured hallway to his room accompanied by the music, he opens the door letting Loki in and sighs unbuttoning his jacket and vest, that follows his shirt and pants while Loki breathes around him busy sniffing around.

“Nothing man, there’s nothing” he looks down at his feet, taking his socks off and walking to the bathroom. He turns the faucet of his shower on, the glass condensing as he stands in front of his mirror, and sighs as he runs a finger under his eyes and strokes his palm on his neck deciding to shave even though there’s nothing really to shave

“Need to work on those bench presses again,” he informs himself as he prepares his shaving cream and wonders how nice it would have been if he wasn’t to be a lawyer and be under the strict no-beard policy, he opens the drawers, finding his razor box first thing in the second stall and steps inside the shower as the music changes to _Spaceship Coupe_ the beat making his feet tap and splash in the large space.

He scrubs himself clean choosing to use his citrus body wash and squeezing some shampoo on his hair working the crusted gel out, he sighs relieved as the jet of hot water hits his body, he doesn’t know for how long his stands in there but when he yawns he remembers about shaving. He grabs the folded towel from the wall hanger he installed himself on the porcelain bottom side of the shower and tightens it around his waist to step on the carpet and shivering a little on the cold pavement.

“Still here baby?” Loki wags her tail sitting outside the bathroom, vapour swooshing out and Loki wrinkles his nose a little.

He applies an abundant amount of shaving cream and shaves quickly, working the blade carefully on the line of his neck and sideburns.

“Wanna shave too?” Loki pads away as he chuckles and washes his face clean taking extra care in brushing his teeth.

When he comes out dressed only in pants Loki is already the kitchen door, he walks by him and points to his empty bowl of food and sighs.

“Sorry bug” he excuses going to the pantry and ripping open one of pre-packaged foods and empties it in Loki’s bowl, adding some water and Loki already eating avidly from the other one, he pats his back, and returns to the kitchen, resting a hand on the smooth white countertop and looks at the stove, there’s a note stuck on the oven door

_Spaghetti are in the fridge, heat them for 3 minutes and bon appétit!_

He beams at Caroline’s handwriting, his stylist, and opens the black slicked fridge door taking out the bowl of spaghetti and setting it on three minutes looking around at the clean dishes and putting them in the cupboards. He flops ungracefully on the couch deciding on changing it as soon as he gets a free day from the firm. He grabs the remote and switches on the TV humming along to the last lines of _Spaceship Coupe_ , his phone buzzes on the countertop where he left it, Jade’s message on the lit screen

_Call me!_

The microwaves beeps and Liam takes the scalding bowl in his hands whistling at the burn left on his fingertips, he grabs a handkerchief and sets it under the bowl to lessen the heat of it and eats with Loki by his side in front of the TV. “Dark Knight Rises” is currently playing and a laughs escapes him as the Joker lights up the mass of money by his side

 _“It's not about the money, it’s about sending a message,”_ they say together and Loki growls menacing at the screen

“Calm down pup, just a film” he chews a bite of spaghetti down and grabs his bottle of water, another message buzzing on the phone.

He rolls his eyes taking the phone in his hands and swiping away Harry’s message about Leigh’s files sending an _I’ll talk to her tomorrow,_ Louis just sends him a _Daniel! Damn it, Liam, bring me there one day!_ He chuckles replying to that one too and he calls Jade waiting as the line rings

“Liam! I texted you thirty minutes ago!” she shrills on the line

“I was eating babe, kinda need food you know”

“Don’t call me babe now, you have a date with Malik!”

“Who even told you about that?” he inquires setting his bowl down and lowering the volume of the music with the remote

“I have people, you needed some information right? Harry said so” He knew it must have been Harry

“Just about everything, I’m clueless about him apart from the voice and that picture crappy quality picture of three months ago” he admits fiddling with his pants

“I don’t have any picture, but that man eats with his eyes” she whispers interestingly

“Uh?”

“His face too and in general, that man is beautiful but his eyes Liam, anyways you’re an oblivious human being so I guess it won’t work on you, he plays a lot too so pay attention to what you’re saying, make it about specifications if anything” he hears a rustling of sheets on the line

“We’re not even going to talk about the men involved in the case” he watches the Joker taking a gun and giving it to Two-Face

“Oh so just a date?”

“Guess so” Liam hums stroking Loki’s belly

“What?”

He laughs “Goodnight Jade,” Liam says ending the call, a series of messages coming in just later, he’ll see her tomorrow anyways.

He returns to his spaghetti, eating the last bites of it and leaving the plate for Loki to finish, he decides on texting Zayn back watching as the Joker pulling out a detonator to destroy the ships he filled with explosives

To Zayn Malik:

_For someone I didn’t see in years I hear from you an awful lot these days_

He sends away the message and walks to the kitchen washing the licked-clean bowl off and rinses it with Loki huffing by his side

“Want more?” he widens his eyes at Loki’s tail wagging against his leg “No pup, no more” Loki whines padding off to his bowl of water and Liam returns to his phone blinking on the arm of the couch, a wine stain Louis will never be forgiven for under his eyes as he takes the phone up.

From: Zayn Malik:

_Oh, we’ll find a remedy to that too. Night Liam ;)_

He wishes he didn’t like the winky faces this much.

He turns off the TV watching Loki hurrying away in the direction of his room, he switches the lights off leaving the music playing and yawning he walks in his bedroom leaving the door open and checking the blinking lights of the monitor for any door or window left open.

He slips his sweatpants off and with a clap the lights turn off as he slips inside his bed comforters, Loki laying by his side with a quiet bark

“Goodnight bud” he rubs Loki’s fur bunching the covers under his neck and rubbing his cold feet against each other to warm himself up, a smile stamping on his face when he thinks about tomorrow. He shakes his head quickly and orders his heart to stop thumping this loudly, it’ll be fine.

 

The smell of freshly brewed coffee tickles Liam's nose when he stirs in his bed; he snuggles deeper in the heat of his covers, the clean smell of its fabric blocking away the attentiveness that the aroma of coffee provokes him. As the draperies slide their way up, light flooding his simple room: a bed, some frames hanged on the wall and the way to his closet. A line of suits is hung neatly by colour when he eyes them creating a hollow in the covers, he stretches squinting at the light filtering the curtains.

Loki has already run off and Liam knows his food might be finished by now. He should really start on rationalising Loki’s sustenance, but he can’t bring himself to resist the whines and beguiling looks Loki feigns when he notices the food in his bowl is not enough. He checks the time on the clock signalling eight past ten and grumbles sliding out of the covers, frowning at the shudder that invades him as he walks to the bathroom to brush his teeth, he checks his eyes and he thinks he probably might need his glasses today.

The music is still on and Sinatra’s _I’m Feeling Good_ helps him wear his dark blue two-buttons tailored suit, he goes for dark socks and he buttons up his shirt working it inside the hook and bar band of his pants, then his wool jacket smoothing the lapels of it on his torso, he whistles quietly as he combs and gels his hair, wearing the glasses on the way out of his room to the shoe closet, picking his black oxfords and walking down the hall to the kitchen.

“Hey man” Niall greets him already dressed in his light grey suit meets him seated by the counter, jacket hanged on the other stool beside him

“Morning Niall, how was the trip?” he wears his shoes and slips on his watch

“Fucking amazing, man. Rochelle and Marvs are fucking nuts mate, they party all day all night, living the Gatsby life” Niall chuckles brushing his hair back and moving the newspaper to the side. Liam pours his coffee and drops two cubes of sugar in it, yawning at the sun clear in the sky and Loki munching around a piece of bread

“How was Dubai then?” he picks up a teaspoon from the first drawer by the stoves and stirs the coffee and disposing of the teaspoon in the sink afterwards

“We gotta go for your birthday man, you need it, it’s sensational” Niall bites one of the croissants on the tray in front of him, crème patisserie staining his cheeks.

Liam wipes the side of his cheek clean with his thumb, tasting the crème on his tongue

“You got to stop doing this shit before the date you’ll have with Malik” Niall warns smirking like a fool, his blue eyes fluttering close and open in a sequence of poorly executed winks “He’ll fucking jump you, remember Danielle? She fucking wanted to eat you after you flattened the collar of her dress”

“It was wrinkled!” Liam defends himself and really, the flap of Danielle's white collar blouse was high on her neck and he had to, he just couldn’t leave her like that walking in 'Per Se'

“Yeah, but you fucked anyways right, shut the fuck up Liam” Niall closes gulping the coffee and stepping off the stool and wearing his jacket as Liam sips from his coffee

Liam didn’t even know Niall would have been there in the morning. Danielle was wearing his shirt and preparing some eggs when the doorknob turned and Niall whistled, Danielle turning of a plummy shade of red he said after she left, kissing him on the cheek. She murmured  _See you in court_ when she waved embarrassed before closing the door.

“Well, it was a good one” Liam whispers sipping the last bits of his coffee and setting the cup in the dishwasher. He grabs a paper napkin holding a croissant of his own and biting it as he grabs the keys, phone and his ventiquattrore, and calling his driver when he locks the door.

“Yes it was a good one, she looked fucked out during the court hearing too” Niall chuckles

“Stop it, Niall” he blushes

“Oh come on man, blushing this pair of bollocks, do me the favour” he insists as they do the set of stairs quickly. Liam fastens the first buttons of his coat when they reach the first floor and walk through the automatic door of the main entrance

“Why not a day off before coming back?” he tries to change the argument, Niall adjusts his coat beside him and blowing air in the cold, vapour forming shapes in front of them

“I want to see you fretting” Niall states kindly enough “That’s the same thing you did with Sophia on that twenty-five thousand dollar marijuana case, quite the stunner I might say, would have loved a threesome if you weren’t this bloody stingy” Niall mutters with a creased brow

“Hey Paddy” Liam shakes his driver’s hand, Paddy giving him a firm handshake and nodding to Niall

“Are you good, Liam?”

“Great thanks, I have croissants at home, I can give you the keys to come get them” Paddy nods starting the car and Liam fastens the seatbelt together with Niall

“Did you know he has a date with Zayn, this one gets the good ones every time, remember Sophia?” Niall picks the argument again, to Liam’s displeasure- or pleasure.

Paddy nods “Quite the screamer, I remember,” he says starting to drive along the street, Liam rubs his eyes under the glasses and huffs

“Paddy come on, man…”

“You fucked her in the car? This car? I knew it, dammit, how many of our defendant’s attorneys did you get on with?” Niall shrieks

“More than a score that I can say” Paddy comes in again “And I mean I’m kind of proud, he’s like a son to me, glad he can make people this happy and relieved”

“Oh God, Paddy, stop it” Liam begs, he’s not ready for anything and it’s not even half past nine.

“Bet with me Liam’s gonna go and mess around with Zayn too”

“I’m not betting anything Mr. Horan, I know it’ll happen”

“Okay okay, can you please stop talking about my sexual encounters?”

“As if!”

 

As the car stops Liam grabs his briefcase quickly, the smog the streets leaving them as they make their way in and they get greeted by the firm’s workers below them, still an affiliate of his dad’s, mostly a conglomerate of associates and newbies from universities, he counters the stream of _Good morning Mr. Payne_ with a smile.

“Good morning Payne, morning Niall” Leigh meets them by the elevators, a folder in her hands and a cup of coffee ready, she smiles dressed in her dark green pencil skirt and cream coloured blouse hugging her shoulders, she taps her suede Manolo Blahkin pumps as they wait for their turn to the elevator. Liam knows the type because Sophia was wearing the same pair when she pushed him against the door of the men’s bathroom after their last court hearing and picked up her skirt to bunch it up to her waist. _Fuck me, come on_ she whispered in his ear and Liam did, locking the bathroom cubicle’s door and fucking her against the wall. He remembers what she was wearing too, for a casualty he can’t describe.

“Morning Leigh, do you have the interest rates for Mr. Pascal?” she nods quickly, handing him the folder and walking between him and Niall as the walk down the hallways to his office

“Mr. Pascal settled an interest rate of ten percent for every month after the loan was requested by Mr. Servia, the fifteenth of March the rate increased up to twenty-five percent which is why Mr. Servia has an over sum of money to pay back, approximately of two hundred thousand dollars more. Same occurrence we have with Mr. Loprete in 2006 when he requested a loan at the Pascal Loans and by the end of 2008 paid twice as much of what he really needed to refund Mr. Pascal’s company”

“We could charge him with fraud, if anything, we have Mr. Servia’s contract at hand” Niall starts but Liam stops in his tracks

“Leigh, do you have any other occurrences?”

“Two more sir” she says breathing in, her hair tickling the side of her neck

“Send me a brief of those two by this afternoon and you can go home and take a rest yeah?” He nods, Leigh smiling back at him “Send my regards to Jordan” he rests a hand on her forehead, pouting as she closes her eyes and breathes out in relief

“Thank you Mr. Payne” she says recomposing herself, shoulder tight and two brown eyes staring back at him

“Be safe, sorry for the unexpected call” he continues and she smiles spiritedly

“No worries Mr. Payne, it’s my job… Mr. Horan? Have a good day” she turns quickly on her heels and flashes back away from them

“That’s why everybody likes you dammit Liam, you and your father are such grandpas”

“We can charge him with fraudulence and misconduct and this seems too easy, I don’t know…”

“Mr. Servia consensually signed the contract right?”

“Yes, it was a time of trouble so I guess he had urgency in taking the loan, if you can review the agreement and read over the same thing again, it’d be great” Niall winks yielding to his office by the left

“Will be done” he rushes closing the door of his office, the click being muted in the clacking of shoes as he walks by the conference room waving at Harry that nods in his direction while talking in front of a the members of the firm, a series of black suits and shoes turning in his direction

Louis is already in when he reaches his desk, typing away on his computer, his hair trimmed a little and styled back, a light blue chemise under his blue cashmere jacket.

“You have Mr. Servia in an hour, Sullivan at eleven thirty and Hamilton just after him, I set all the papers on the side of your desk, Sullivan and Hamilton are just contractual stipulations about their businesses and insurance, Mr. Servia had somewhat of a priority so I moved the meeting earlier” he says still typing down and looking in front of him “I swear if you don’t bring me to Daniel’s, I’ll quit” he stops after sending the email and standing up fastening his one button grey suit and walking out of his desk site. Liam smiles shaking his head and eyes the new door in polished wood

“I don’t appreciate the use in having a faux wooden door if my office wall is all in refined glass, is this even reasonable?”

“Don’t ask me”

“Harry can bring you there” Liam returns to the Daniel issue, Louis widening his eyes and shaking his head obstinately

“I want _you_ to bring me there” he forces and Liam rolls his eyes, he doesn’t even know why he told him about it, anyways he would have found out.

“Whatever Louis”

His phone rings in his pocket, Zayn’s name appearing on the screen and Louis flopping on his chair with a smirk

“Good Morning Malik” he starts resting a hand on the desk and laying his black leather briefcase on it

“Good morning Payne, are you allergic to anything?” he asks quickly, his voice calm and gentle

“No, why?” He knows he’s not allergic to anything in particular, his mind returning to the incumbent date when Zayn answers

“Just preparing for your date” _what a fucker_ he thinks, he smiles anyway watching Louis turn on his chair and juggling with some pens as he turns around.

“You’re taking this seriously…” he deduces rubbing his chin

“I hope you are too, see you Payne” the line cuts off

“I think he has me” he drops his phone on the desk, wincing at the clattering noise of it

“Zayn bang bang sex is on the way!” Louis yells shutting his mouth quickly when he notices the door of his office is open

“Shut it Louis dammit!” he hisses.

 

Mr. Servia comes by ten, meeting him in his office dressed in his usual black suit, the features of his face a little tired and the worried crease of his forehead. He chews on his lips as Liam tells him about the affidavit he signed with Pascal, some sort of preoccupation and doubt when Liam informs him of the interest rate by standing the contract. With some reassurances, he sends him his way.

“I’ll call again and we will meet in court okay? Everything is going to be fine”

“Thank you”

He closes the door of his cab and waves quickly before walking back in, shivering because of the cold weather.

Hamilton and Sullivan go by quickly with some clarifications on their new contract and a court hearing planned ahead. Liam takes a rest by the break room, walking to Leigh that holds her head in her hands.

“What’s up?”

“Oh just an headache, I’ll be fine Mr. Payne” she sighs sipping from her cup of coffee

“You have a fever you know that right?” he says resting the back of his hand on her forehead, she scrunches up her nose shaking her head

“I’ll be fine, I’m almost done with the briefs, in an hour they’ll be by your desk, sir” she forces and he admits defeat taking the cup away from her hands and giving her his bottle of water

“Do you need a ride home?”

“Jordan will come and pick me up, Liam, don’t worry, I’ll be fine” she stands up unscrewing the cap of the bottle and sipping from it

“Jade told me Malik has you on a headlock” she giggles pinning her hair in a ponytail

“I swear _I’ll_ have Jade on a headlock sometime around,” he says, smiling when Leigh chuckles and promises about the readiness of the briefs.

 

By five in the afternoon Liam’s walking up and down his office while Louis looks at him with a grin on his lips that Liam would like to punch out of him and his heart beating so fast Liam thinks he needs to cancel and visit the emergency room. He’s never seen him since that awkward dinner with his fathers by the side when they were nineteen and Liam didn’t even dare to stare too much at those soft pink lips of his and the contour of a small swallow bird on the outside of his right hand. He wonders if he has it still.

Harry comes in with his usual cup of tea and sits on Liam’s fauteuil by the windows unbuttoning his jacket and huffing unceremoniously brushing a lock of hair behind his ear, a folder marked in red and black presumably containing the briefs of Leigh

“Mr. Servia actually signed the contract by which a twenty-five percent rate was annexed, Payne” he comments grouchily and somewhat irritated, some wrinkles forming on his forehead as he drops the folder on the coffee table.

“Thing is we don’t care because Mr. Servia had another meeting recorded with Mr. Pascal where it was specifically said that the twenty-five percent rate would have been implemented if the loan wouldn’t have been paid by two years’ time! And here” he unfastens the folder’s lace rushing to take a page out of the thin stack of contractual paper “on page twenty-three we have it quoted which I guess Mr. Pascal knows about but not entirely. We have the audio, we have the lead on this” he says happily and settling back on the chair

“Thanks, Harry”

“Yeah, I don’t give a shit about this, it’s almost six what the bloody hell are you doing here?” Harry shoots a pointed look at Louis that just shrugs and chuckles

“He’s fretting, Niall will be here in a few-”

“That’s the man!” Niall opens the door to his office, his hair a bit unruly and tie unknotted

“What the hell did you do to yourself?”

“Bressie man, he’s a magical creature” he winks, sighing and checking for anything on his pants

“Why is it that all of you have sex in here?” Liam demands arranging the briefs and putting them inside his briefcase, Niall rolling his eyes

“All this adrenaline has to go somewhere Liam! Don’t be a dick, did you know he fucked Smith in the car?”

“What?” Louis and Harry say in unison, Liam face palming himself

“Smith from the marijuana case? The stunner?” Louis gets a smack in the head by Harry beside him

“Yes mate, the bloody smart and quick on her feet one, great lawyer I might say” Niall fixes his tie by the collar still stunned and Liam doesn’t understand, she was indeed everything he kind of wished for in a woman and it would have been a loss if that he would have said _no_ to Sophia unbuttoning her blouse in the car, it was consensual at least.

“Gigolo” Harry laughs

“Indeed!” Niall laughs too

“I have to go, please get the fuck out of my office and go home”

“Yes, Mr. Payne” they all say together patting him on the back as he locks the door to his office and waves them goodbye before getting inside the elevator

“Pay-no, Pay-no” they chant like idiots and Liam still can’t understand why he’s so fond of them.

 

By the time he sits in the car, Paddy greeting him with a nod, Liam is absolutely not fucking ready. Is it five years? Five years he didn’t get to see him after losing contact when he left to return in London after the news of the death of Yaser’s father.

Under the coat, his suit is getting tighter by the second, the low buzzing sound of _Tell Me Something Good_ spiking his trepidation as Paddy drives steadily by Park Avenue, roads somewhat clear as the sky becomes darker and darker above his head.

“I’ll call” he says after getting off the car, Paddy giving him a thumbs up and a wave

“I’ll be by Central Park, Liam”

Liam checks the time as he turns to the entrance of the restaurant, modest in its exterior, some other people standing by smoking a cigarette and talking lively about wine and money, he’s ten minutes early

“Nice seeing you, Liam” makes him stop and look in front of him, the voice familiar and the intonation of his name pronounced by only one person in the entire city of New York. He could have deduced from pictures and the memory of a nineteen-year-old but he didn't know Zayn Malik would be this stunning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Heat floods Liam's cheeks when he raises his head, he almost feeling lightheaded with the way Zayn is looking back at him, a small smile marking his lips. Zayn is not in a coat despite the cold weather; dressed in an Italian slim tailored suit, sleek in its silhouette buttoned and framing his waist line and it's colour resembling the one of a dim black under the lights of Daniel.

“No modelling?” Liam asks, grinning when Zayn shakes his head dejectedly and fixes his jacket. Liam hums at the fabric that looks much lighter than what he expected, seeming to an Armani suit style

“Give it a break, you jackass” Zayn laughs urging him in

Liam is an usual to Daniel, but now it’s different: the restaurant seems to acquire a lustrous look. The receptionist greets him with a wink that Zayn doesn’t miss, a little waver in his brow when he waves back. Not many people are in, its semi-lit lights give an elegant atmosphere, ionic columns lavishing intricate ornaments carved into the resemblance of flowers and leaves of a Corinthian capital. Zayn leads him through the people sitting elegantly by the round dining tables, suits and dresses all branded in names Liam knows so well since ages. He spots the pianist under the apsidal way of the room, he greets him with a quick two-finger salute and he winks back at him, light music flowing from his fingers.

They sit by the far end of the table, the one by the windows and set of red lit votive candles engraved in floral designs. Unbuttoning the first button of their suit together, Liam and Zayn laugh like it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever done at the same time- as if coming in their pants didn't ever count.

“Long time no see,” Liam says, a waiter dressed in a trouser in fleece suit and long sleeved black shirt, buttoned till his neck, takes away the reservation spot and politely asks for the orders

Zayn takes care of the orders already at ease with his choice of menu

“You were a little late for my degree” Liam consents quietly

“Was I?”

“No shit”

Zayn shrugs guiltily while taking his jacket off, a light black shirt in its classing neckline and singled button cuffs. Liam knew Zayn was beautiful, he just didn’t know the features of his face would turn this elegant and tranquil, the smoothness of his cheeks invaded by a light and neatly trimmed beard; Zayn let his hair grow, Liam notices, combed back and a minor side part, his ears with small cheap golden earrings.

“Toast?” Zayn offers after the waiter pours some Cabernet in their glasses and Zayn asks for a Merlot

“Go for it”

“To a fruitful case” he laughs clanking lightly their glasses together and Liam doesn’t know what that means- he doesn’t want to know.

Liam does the talking, he doesn’t know why but the nervousness of having the twenty-six year old Zayn instead of the memory of a nineteen makes his agitated. They eat calmly, the clatter of their silverware silenced by the music of the piano, something about piperade makes him quiet fretted, this was the same meal they had before Zayn went away, he notices.

“Reminds me of your mum” Liam says, Zayn looks at him as he sets the fork down and smiling modestly when he raises his head to meet his eyes, his lips stretching in a thin smile, his hand stroking along the line of his chin and his fingers with their silver rings bands contrasting the warmth of his skin. Liam doesn’t know what to make of the fond look he gets sent his way.

Zayn's swallow tattoo is still there, Liam thought he’d have it off, but there it is, brings him back to memories, bring his back to the sickening pining he went through when they were still too young to know what they really wanted- but they knew.

"Why are you on this case? You could have assigned your paralegal or even an associate?" he tries at their second course

"It's against you, that's why" Zayn says simply, wiping his mouth with the tissue napkin

"I don't understand"

"You do understand and my paralegal tells me you're a right pain in the ass"

"Pain in the ass?"

"The other kind too" he smiles

"Zayn-" Liam fails to stop the flush from rising to his cheeks as he ducks his head

"Just wanted to have a little case with you, getting to know each other, yeah?"

"Why would you pursue the case anyway, we’re talking now, aren’t we?"

"You came tonight, that's my incentive to pursue it" he winks and Liam leaves it like that.

Tension flares in his veins as Zayn’s shoe strokes its way up his pants, the rub of his pants fabric making him catch his breath, his cock threatening to fill up in his pants.

He and Zayn fooled around sometime, most of times. Back when they were still prude about the whole law firm issue they met and Liam remembers about Zayn's mouth when Zayn licks his lips, pink tongue darting out and gliding on that soft smooth skin. Liam remembers like an imprint on his cock how it felt to thrust in and out of that slick and hot mouth, how Zayn would gag around his cock and would still ask him to continue while stroking himself quickly, knees on the floor and his teary eyes looking back at him.

"You're staring" Zayn says, catching him by surprise

"Not my fault, isn't it?" Liam counters with a smile. Zayn laughs his shoe rubbing on the inseam of his pants under the table. His skin is on fire, little pinching schools of pleasure and awaiting coursing his body

"I accept the compliment Liam" Zayn smiles innocently taking a forkful of salmon

"I'm not an easy one" Liam says setting the fork and knife down as the waiter takes up the plates

"I know, Mr. Pascal might have a fraudulent case of his own to take care of Liam, if I have to be sincere I'd give my personal assistance to Mr. Servia on this issue. I understand the complications it may bring him if Mr. Pascal were to win, but consider we'll have this" he presses the pad of his thumb and index tightly together "much fun if you continue being this uptight about the case instead of concentrating on me and you at this right moment"

"Why are we talking about the indictment?" he asks blaming himself for even beginning to talk about the case

"Do you want to talk about my mouth then? Since you can't take your eyes off of it?"

Liam’s eyes shoot up to him, a smirk fixed on Zayn’s lips when their eyes meet and Liam would like to pull him in across the table and kiss him there and do so much more-

“I’m going to use the restroom” Liam excuses himself quickly, setting the napkin on the table. His shirt is getting tighter and his cock is aching in his pants. He looks at himself in the mirror shaking his head and splashing some cold water on his face, the cool lessening the fire recurring on his skin

When Liam comes back the desserts are already served and Zayn is chatting up with Melanie De La Vroue, usual of the restaurant, a serious look on his face as he spots him coming back

“Liam, nice to see you” she smiles laying a hand on Zayn’s shoulder

“Melanie” he greets her with a nod

“Not even a call” she pouts kissing his cheeks swiftly, and Liam recognizes the arching in Zayn’s brow, the little twitch in his lips when he smiles at him

“That’s the policy of one night stands, Mel” he whispers in her ear before moving to the table, a chuckle escaping her mouth as she parts ways with them and returns to her table by the private dining aisle, Zayn still looking at him with a pointed look

“What?”

“So Vroue had her way” Zayn chews his lips, sitting and grabbing a teaspoon and caving in the molten chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top

“Which kind of way?”

“More than one” he winks and Liam frowns sitting back in his chair. The dessert tastes great on his palate, but watching Zayn’s mouth around the spoon is appealing and after the first couple of spoonful he can’t feel anything on his tongue.

When they walk out of the restaurant, Zayn shivers in the cold by his side, Liam knows he shouldn’t give his coat because he knows Zayn will not give it back to him, but the chattering of his teeth worries him. He shrugs his coat off by the exit of Daniel and lays it on Zayn’s shoulders.

“Always the gentleman, that’s why ladies can’t resist you” Zayn smiles fitting his long arms inside the coat with a huff

Liam pouts, but he helps Zayn in the coat and watches his tiny frame being enveloped in its material, he watches Zayn holding the lapels of its collar and sniff closing his eyes for a moment and Liam shouldn’t watch, because Zayn has always been captivating. Liam presses a thumb on the collar of the coat to smooth it down Zayn’s chest, his breath picking up as her fastens the buttons and Zayn just stands there looking at him. Liam can’t look back, he can’t and he doesn’t.

“You did” Liam murmurs patting his chest lightly, cold whizzing in his suit.

Paddy’s car surfaces and Liam steps back studying the glimmer in Zayn’s eyes and reading on his lips a muted  _Didn’t really work_. Liam would like to kiss him, kiss those soft chapped lips shining as Zayn darts his tongue on them

“See you in court” he says when Zayn opens the door to his car, a buzzing noise in his head

“Good luck”

Liam doesn’t know how to stop his heart from beating this fast on the drive back to his flat. And if he takes a hot shower while gasping at the hardness of his cock in his hands as he strokes it frantically, well, nobody will ever know why.

 

Zayn’s being a dick. He’s being a dick and Liam would like to push him against the wooden table he’s sitting behind and do the impossible to him.

“Mr. Pascal, money‘s never been an issue for your account and the latter contract you signed with Mr. Servia proves that, did you approach him with the assumed request of a needed loan because you want to acquire his restaurant?”

“Objection your honour, there are no basis to Payne’s affront” Zayn comes in

“Your Honour, there are always reasons to give loans and instil in them an interest rate of twenty-five percent, two years in” he justifies himself to the judge, her glasses low on her nose and a pen clicking on the desk

“Objection overruled”

“Mr. Pascal, returning to my question. Did you approach Mr. Servia about the loan because in the end you wanted to acquire his restaurant?”

“Objection Your Honour” Zayn cuts in boringly from his seat

“Care to clarify?” the judge asks fixing his glasses

“It’s an assumption on personal morality your honour, Mr. Pascal’s only objective is getting the amount of capital back”

“Your honour, assumptions are what make the jury understand the possible outcome of this case, saying that the assumption bases itself on a personal morality issue is trivial” Liam retorts calmly before the judge, there are not many people around, just a few officers and the stenographer typing away on the typewriter

“Objection overruled, Mr. Malik please let Mr. Payne continue” Zayn winks up at Liam and Liam wills himself to calm down before his instincts get over him and make him push Zayn against the table of a court of law, his hands are tingling and he breathes in returning to Mr. Pascal, probably a fifty-seven year old man with a family to take care of and maybe grandchildren, but he’ll tackle that issue later.

“Please Mr. Pascal, would you answer my question?”

“No, I didn’t have such interest in the outcome of the loan, Mr. Payne”

“Do you think you’d have such interest when Mr. Servia will have no money to continue his business?”

“Objection your honour!” Zayn promptly interrupts standing up from his seat in his casual stance, it looks causal in Liam’s eyes but he knows people perceive it as confident, the hunch in his shoulders is still there when he looks back at him

“Mr. Payne-” the judge comes in

“It’s just a simple question, Your Honour”

“If Mr. Servia may be willing to give his business to my corporation there’d be no problem in annexing it” Mr. Pascal says quickly in his calm and settled voice, and wow, Zayn found a perfect plaintiff, he almost wishes he could compliment his phlegmatic expression and the posture he pertains while sitting on the stand.

Zayn rolls his eyes from his spot, returning to seat and fastening the buttons of his dark suit. The swallow on the outside of his hand is not there, nor the earrings and one of his rings, he has no tie and he has shaven, Liam never saw Zayn clean shaven before and this sight is too much to take in.

“That’s all, Your Honour”

Mr. Servia smiles by his side, just a small and nervous smile but it’s enough for him to step out of the court with Zayn walking near him and Mr. Servia leaving with Marilyn outside the court

“You were being a dick” Liam smiles to the judge when he passes by to his office

“Come on Liam, it’s just to fuel the warrior within you” Zayn brushes off when he closes the door to Mr. Pascal’s car and pats the hood of it to make it move on its way, the sun is shining in the sky and rays hit Zayn’s directly on his neck, his shirt unbuttoned and revealing a bit of the Arabic by his collarbone

“You added to the chest piece” Liam comments returning to look at his face while they walk to the cab and Zayn lifts his hand quickly for a car to stop in front of them

“Oh yeah, it’s pretty wicked underneath my suit” Zayn laughs and Liam feels himself flush at the thought of his revealing his tattoos underneath his jacket and shirt, but he wills himself not to move or act on any thought

“I’m keeping the coat” he says quickly before getting in the cab, he smiles

“I knew you’d keep it”

“I keep everything you give me” he says and Liam looks at the car driving away perplexed.

He doesn’t know if that’s true.

 

The second court hearing is calm and even though Zayn comes out a winner from that, Liam knows Zayn doesn’t carry himself out of boundaries, he walks closely to Mr. Servia and converses with him like it’s the most usual thing he is doing. His suit stretches across his shoulders, he guesses that’s a British dark blue suit with a light blue shirt underneath he’s wearing and it fits him so well, the stance, the ratio of his waist to his shoulders.

Zayn still gives him a hard time, but it’s nothing Liam can’t bear, he watches him as he goes to up and down the aisle in front of him and Liam doesn’t even try to object anything, he really doesn’t want to and he feels as in nothing could really change the way Zayn makes him feel when he return back to his table and pulls out a series of debt accumulated over the years from Mr. Servia, that’s what he meant by misdoings during their dinner together.

“Objection Your Honour, those are files from other loan companies, and they’ve not been reviewed on the basis of debts accumulated” he tries

“Malik, explain”

“The unsuitability of Mr. Servia to pay back his debts has always been a problem so I can guess that why Mr. Pascal imparted a raise in the interest rate, to make him pay earlier, wasn’t this what you two discussed in the first meeting?” Zayn smiles at Mr. Servia that smiles up at him too

“Yes”

“Your Honour” he interjects and Niall passes him a the contract at hand with a serious look, he didn’t have to come, but Liam guesses the thought of not seeing Zayn bothered Niall quite a lot so there he was “Here we have on page twenty three paragraph three the unconcerned need provided by the plaintiff to make the need for a raise of twenty five percent on the loan if Mr. Servia didn’t pay half of the money by the first two years, which he did” he slides the paper in front of the judge checking with him the authenticity of it, Zayn close by his side when the judge raises his head and with a smack of his gavel on the sound block and says

“Court adjourned” makes him jump a little with relief when the judge makes them return in a few days with more deliberations about the case.

“Good lad” Niall pats his shoulder and going to shake hands with Zayn, Liam just looks at the weariness in Zayn’s eyes when he can’t recognize him at first, when he can’t move himself off the brightness of Niall’s body

“My legal assistant” he says quietly when Zayn has Niall in a headlock, the blond laughing at one of his own jokes

“Too bright for a legal assistant”

“You could have Harry, he’s good” Niall proposes even if Liam glares at him

“Styles? I heard, and I really need to speak to Louis about on the job quickies” Zayn chuckles

“What?”

“Where have you been?” Niall asks baffled

“In my office?”

“You really need to get out more often, what about dinner at my place?” Zayn throws in, his hand stopping on Liam’s shoulder

“Yo Payne! Time to go” he rushes forward to Bressie by the entrance of the court

“What you say?”

“What if I say no?”

“I don’t think you will, I live in that oh so fateful flat, come by”

Liam’s hands twitch when Zayn smiles, he’d like to cup his cheeks and tell him how much he wants to touch him, to feel the softness of his skin on his palm, how much he needs him now, he feeds off him like a drug and he’s okay with that, he’s been good with everything, but Zayn sparks all of what in him was spent and the ride back to his firm makes him grit his teeth, the aching feeling of his cock against the zipper of his pants making him lay his head on the cool surface of the window

“Good, Liam?”

“Remember the nineteen year old I had a crush on, the one I told you about when I was trashed throwing up on the toilet of your place?” Paddy raises a brow, his reflection showing in the rear view mirror “That’s him”

“Fucking hell Liam” Paddy sighs shaking his head

“Yeah, fucking hell Liam…”

 

The thing is that they meet now that they know, and they feel each other. They don’t stop until Liam has to choke back moans under the blankets of his bed because the callousness of his hand is not enough in exchange for Zayn’s mouth, and he wants it, he wants those lips and tongue and heat around him and on him, it’s not only that.

But Zayn invites with his body and his looks and Liam is left prey of them in a simple court room as he walks up to Mr. Pascal and reads out loud the injustices of his past two cases that were strangely not reported to the law, but among that, Zayn sits and accepts those without objection and sometimes he stands and confronts him in front of the judge with his stance and gestures and his eyes.

Liam should not be affected but it’s years he’s not seen him and remembering the same shy personality he had in common with him makes Liam a bit dizzy, of all that Zayn shifts in behaviour, court room posture is as confident as it is and Liam can’t deny that, he leaves his worries and doubt for articulated explanations and words he can’t even understand sometimes.

Liam was not good with words, he had to learn and his father always told him that hard work would be a result of good success and he does feel that, he feels it when Zayn speaks with Mr. Servia and Judge Moreno nods along his words. He’s good, Zayn’s always been good.

“December nineteenth, last court hearing and verdict Payne. Malik?”

“Yes?”

“Good luck, both of you, great lawyers” Moreno smiles giving them and handshake and seeing them out of his office.

They have two weeks still with witnesses’ accounts but Zayn leaves that to talk about a dinner and Liam goes with it, because he can’t not go with it.

 

Liam presents himself to Zayn’s place and stays in front of the door like a statue for some moments wondering about when he’d sum up the courage to knock. He’s never been that good with the whole playing it cool, keeping him at distance; magnetism forms when he knows Zayn’s around and it doesn’t escape him, the riveting pulsation of his heart and the throbbing in his veins makes him mad and the tattoo on the outside of his wrist burns in reminder of what happened between them and it was so good, so fucking good.

He knocks and Zayn opens the door with a smile and a shy wave, contrasting his poise and stoical stand in the court room.

“Always good with graffiti uh?” he compliments taking in the designs on the walls.

“They kind of remind me of you” Zayn pours some wine in the glasses by the table, he knows the smell coming from the kitchen, he used to come down from Zayn’s room when they were still living in Lenox Hill.

They don’t eat, Zayn has the shelves filled with comic books they used to read together and Liam is still too enthralled by them to even stop for a second and reconsider about the fact that this is a second date- it is, but he still doesn’t want to take it as one. The second date always fucks things up, attachment, butterflies, sweaty palms, embarrassment, he’s no good for that.

Zayn is wearing one of his old worn out shirts, this one Liam knows is his, he knows because the collar is pulled down enough for him to see the red lips down the sighting of Zayn’s collarbone, and it’s a batman shirt, the hole in the wing of the logo is still there

“You didn’t throw it away,” Zayn says quietly sitting on the faux wool couch, Zayn by his side with a smile on his lips as the pulls the collar and sniffs from it, his rings and swallow are there, the earrings and the shabby hair covering his eyes and curling on his neck.

“Doesn’t smell like you anymore” Zayn murmurs bringing his knees up to his chest once he’s drank the wine from the glass.

Liam is still sober, or so he thinks, he hopes the alcoholic percentage of the Chianti he drank wasn’t that high because he knows he might be doing something stupid. Humming along  _I wanna stop and thank you baby, I just wanna stop and thank you baby_ of Zayn’s speakers leaking with low music under their movements, the attention of their eyes and calculated touches, Liam finds himself brushing Zayn’s hair with his fingers while Zayn reads from  _Fist of the North Star_

“Why did you come back?” Liam asks resting his hand on Zayn’s forehead and he swallows around nothing in awaiting for a response

“Needed to return to someone,” Zayn lowers the comic on his nose, those brown eyes staring back at him for a while before returning to the reading

“Your sister-” Liam says, his heart plummeting a little at the  _someone_ he sincerely though was him.

“Liam, I came for you,” Liam doesn’t mean to chuckle, but it seems absurd in his ears.

“I’m not- like, going away this time” Zayn insists and sits, his shirt riding up his back.

Liam would like to believe him, he’s already believing him, but he’s not that strong when it comes to Zayn. He was strong for Sophia, for Danielle, Melanie, hell, even for that attorney he had against on some fraudulent case who blew him in the archives room, he let them slide because they weren’t as important. They were just a void to fill, but Zayn…

“Okay,” he sips the last bits from his wine glass and when it’s two in the morning and Zayn is sleeping, head on his lap, Liam notices he’s not touched Zayn yet.

And he craves it.

Liam lays him down on his bed, setting back his dark covers over his body and imagines too many things in one moment, their breaths, their hands, Zayn pushing back on his fingers when they were still  _too young to understand._

When he steps back in his place- Louis is sleeping on his bed, Harry by his side and really, he should tell them to quit barging in his place- he feels like he’s been relieved of some weight. Loki’s sleeping already, and for some lucky charm kind of day, Louis and Harry didn’t leave any mess around, he reads Niall’s  _with Bressie, see ya tmw_ and he takes off his sweater counting two weeks or so until the case is closed, he files himself in the covers behind Louis sighing in relief at the warmth of the cover

“You twat, feet are cold” Louis grumbles turning to him, Harry takes up all the left side of the bed with his starfish pose, Louis hugs him close, brushing his hair on Liam’s chest and Liam smiles brushing his hair back

“Sleep, Lou”

“Don’t tell me what to do Payno” Louis yawns nuzzling further up Liam's chest.

 

“Mr. Loprete, regarding to the papers you had to sign for Mr. Pascal, what was the interest rate in 2005?”

He directs the question to the fifty-six year old man dressed in a simple suit, the cuffs hang from his wrist and the shoulder-hip ratio isn’t balanced but he still keeps a decent posture while sitting on the stand, Zayn is sitting with Mr. Pascal by his side, playing idly with a pen and paper, if that wasn’t a doodle Liam wouldn’t be surprised.

“The initial rate was of ten percent”

“What did you end up paying at the end of the four years of contractual loan with Mr. Pascal’s company?”

“Five hundred million three hundred fifty-two thousand four hundred eighty-five dollars and seventy-five cents sir”

“Wow, that’s a significant amount of money for a loan of just two hundred thousand dollars right?”

“Yes sir”

“Looking back at your contract, I personally came to you and demand, what was the interest rate by 2007?”

“Twenty-five percent, Mr. Payne” he says adjusting his tie, Liam notices the redness on his skin, and he knows Mr. Loprete is not a usual for suits

“Now sir, where is your business at right now?”

“Mr. Pascal acquired it in 2010” he says almost with venom, his fist tightening on the board

“Thank you Mr. Loprete” he return back to his seat

Zayn has his own turn with Mr. Loprete and with colloquial tones and such the judge agrees for another room for another witness, Zayn shaking his hand quickly and standing by a still shell-shocked Mr. Pascal when the judge says something about corporate fraud and Zayn nods coolly.

 

What Liam can’t describe is the feeling of bafflement he gets left with when Zayn meets him in the restroom of the court after their witnesses’ account meeting ended, his tie undone and breath short. Zayn watches him for a long moment before setting his bag down and push him against the door by the sinks to crashes his lips unto Liam's own. Liam’s craved those lips since forever, since Zayn went away and it’s like an awakening, it’s like the quiescent side of his body is being stirred.

Zayn’s lips are soft against Liam, they’re insistent and Liam inverses their position because he needs to feel him, he needs to press against his body and the suits and the heat and Zayn’s breath against his neck is clattering the thoughts in his brain.

“Fuck,” Liam hisses

“I know I’ll lose this case” Zayn mutters against his neck and Liam kisses him quiet because it’s so long, it’s been so fucking long he’s touched those lips and he’s licked into Zayn’s mouth, tasting the coffee away from Zayn’s tongue and cupping his cheeks in his palms and he wants to scratch and tear away his clothes

“Why did you even try then?” Liam breathes out, reminding himself not to push this, because he’s not sure about him staying, and he doesn’t want to get used to this, to him and the frailty of his body, he’s not for that, he’s never-

“I’m here with you now” Zayn drags himself away from him, his hands pushing against his chest as he keeps his arms at the side of his head and breathe in.

“I know”

They don’t do anything, they can’t because it’s not good to do. Liam helps Zayn with his tie, Zayn’s eyes are closed as he breathes in and out and Liam feels it, he feels the anticipation and the whirring of their bodies, he watches Zayn’s fingers trembling when he brings his hands to his hair and brushes back his long hair.

Liam would like to fuck him, he’s vibrating with desire and his cock is aching, but he wills himself to stop, they can talk and he’s still in love with Zayn, his nineteen year old self reviving from the back of his mind and screaming in his ears as Zayn looks at him in his light suit and dark tie for one last time.

“I had to go” Zayn says quietly when Liam has him in his hold, tightening his arm around Zayn’s waist, groaning lowly at their closeness “You could have-” he nods closing his eyes, Zayn’s scent intoxicating as he leads his hand to his neck to fix the collar of his suit, mostly to touch his skin, Zayn hums resting his head on Liam’s shoulder.

“I know, I’m sorry. I should have called after that and I didn’t.” Liam presses his lips on Zayn’s forehead, his scent is making him shake and frantic even though they’re still.

Liam wants to say  _kiss me, but_  he moves on his own, a whip cracking along the line of his spine when he kisses Zayn softly, he doesn’t bite, he doesn’t mark, just tongues brushing against each other and their hands intertwining for a moment, a long paused moment in the quietness of the bathroom, the water still flowing from the pipe.

“I’m sorry I told you I was too young to- to love you” Zayn whispers, looking back at him, two fountains of gold and chocolate reminding him how it hurt when he said it, three days after the news of his grandfather’s death.

It hurt and Liam stood there in front of him for a long while, his eyes prickling with tears even though he knew he was much stronger than that. But he understood, it was scary enough and he didn’t have to stop searching for him, he didn’t have to avoid his phone calls till Zayn didn’t try anymore.

When he opens the door of the bathroom Zayn changes, his eyes assume a clear look contrasting the veiled eyelids under Liam’s own gaze, his shoulders fixed and straight and with just one look to him and a fleeting touch of hands he leaves holding his briefcase.

 

“You shit, why didn’t you tell me you were fucking someone in the bathroom?” Louis meets him when he gets back to the office, his lips are still tingling under the brushing of his fingers.

“I wasn’t fucking anyone in the bathroom” he says quickly and Louis snorts

“Yes, and explain to me your hair and the wrinkles on your shirt”

“I snogged Zayn in the restroom”

“I fucking knew it, you bastard” Louis closes the door to his office, the sun is shining grandly inside his office and Liam tries to school his expression to something not near the feeling in his body, his suit is tight and his necktie rubs on his skin making him remember Zayn’s lips there

“It’s just-”

“I know it’s him, you twat, it’s since he came back that you let me take care of your appointments and such… I see you, you’re rubbish at hiding things” Louis holds his arms up when Liam counters him with a glare that doesn’t keep up because he sighs sitting on the desk chair and grabs Brooklyn’s toy and presses it between his palms and breathes in

“I just, we were young and I was not strong enough, I knew we wouldn’t have been together forever, I mean- eighteen? Have you even met your ‘soulmate’ at eighteen years old?”

“Well, this is the time, your overthinking doesn’t really work outside court matters” Louis flicks his chin and Liam winces blocking his second try with a smug look “Come here”

“Always blabbering about the inappropriateness of my behaviour but look at what you do” Louis flops on his lap, slapping his cheeks lightly

“Hey, that’s my boyfriend you have on your lap, Liam!” Harry barges in striding with a stack of paper in his hands

“I’m everybody’s boyfriend!” Liam reasons himself kissing Louis on the forehead and holding his hands up when Harry advances forward,

“I want a kiss too, I pulled up all that information about our client and you didn’t even kiss me!” Harry frowns fixing his hair

“I can!” Louis stands missing the fleeting smirk on Harry’s face, his hair wrapped in a loose bun as he swipes a lock of hair behind his ear “If you need anything we’ll be in the print room!” Louis winks pushing Harry away with him out of the office

“I mean that inappropriateness!” Liam sighs

 

He’s pulling the string, he knows that. He doesn't know why he's doing that to himself, he's trying to resist the current, but Zayn has a clinginess he can't stop himself from accepting. It’s withheld in public, the squeezes on his arm and neck, the way Zayn presses close to him when they share cocktails in that bar Niall talks so much about, they sit by each other dressed in their suits and Zayn bites at his shoulder when Niall is gone and Harry and Louis are not looking. Liam can't help himself and he grabs his thigh till Zayn is muffling a moan on his arm, his breath radiating heat on Liam's skin.

And Zayn takes it a notch forward by working his hand inside his pants, flicking the hook of the band off and crawling with his fingers down and down till he’s there and Liam is lightheaded with it, the booze and bruschettas and the lights, he breathes in and contains his groan when Zayn presses closer, his mouth closing on his neck and Liam can’t take it anymore, he tried to resist before, but he can’t, he’s not going to.

Thing is, Zayn doesn’t even need to try, because Liam is there already and just a word- a word.

“Bring me home with you” Zayn murmurs the day before the verdict from the jury and Liam can’t say no, it’d be like refusing his own body of food or water or air, Zayn is everything multiplied to the nth power, he can’t stop him, his scent, the length of his fingers gripping his arm as Niall takes the cab with a quick hug with everyone and Harry and Louis say they’ll walk to Harry’s place. Paddy’s there already when Zayn gets in, Liam’s own coat hanging from his shoulders in the cold of the night.

“Paddy, mate”

“Good luck man” is the only thing Paddy says quickly, Zayn winking at him with a smile as Liam slides in scrunching up his nose at the swoosh of hot air. He hates the look that Paddy sends his way because it’s like a confirmation, it’s like Paddy’s telling him to let go and go with it because he can’t run anymore, he’d go in circles- and he knows it’d be that way.

Zayn is behind him when they do the set of stairs, the clacking of their shoes making Liam’s heart pound inside his ears, when he turns the doorknob, Loki’s sleeping and he’s feeling erratic even though his space is calm and quiet.

Zayn steps off his shoes and hangs the coat on the hanger by the door quietly and Liam doesn’t know if he’d want to undress, but as soon as Zayn slackens the tie around his neck Liam holds his hand slinging their fingers till their intertwined. A fuzzy feeling forms down Liam’s belly as he leads him inside his room and it’s as if everything is stopping,  _don’t think twice, it’s alright_ blaring from the speakers in the living room as he takes in the view of a Zayn staring at him with his eyes ready, his whole body holding a passion he can’t describe.

“You’re staying?” Liam tries again because no matter how much he wants him, he wants everything Zayn is, the worry of waking up one morning, like five years ago makes him week on the knees.

“Yes” Zayn smiles and Liam doesn’t need anything else

It’s a relief because Zayn doesn’t rush him, Zayn just complies easily in Liam taking off the black jacket of his suit, the material sliding off his arms making everything more palpable in Liam’s hands, he hooks a thumb under Zayn’s Adam’s apple and drags it around the skin of his neck to untighten the necktie and Zayn breathes under his gaze, his eyes closing as he stands there in front of him and it's so many years he didn’t get to touch him like this, it’s five years he didn’t get to see him like this and now he’s here and Liam’s heart is bursting inside his chest.

“I missed you” Zayn puffs against his neck, “You- I came back” and Liam’s heart strings as he slides off his pants and lays them on the floor, still slowly and he doesn’t know if he’s teasing, he just needs not to rush this, he’s never been good at rushing, he needs to think, but not too much.

Zayn pushes him onto the bed and he pulls the jacket of his suit leaving it on the floor with a moan when he rubs himself on Liam’s trousers

"Me too," he says without preamble, it’s- he never said it to anyone apart from Zayn and repeating it again in front of him is a confirmation “It’s- you said you’d stay and we tried, we tried to keep everything but you had to tell me you were too young for this, for me and why?”

“I don’t know” Zayn shakes his head laying his hands on Liam’s chest

"Zayn," Liam sighs just when Zayn dampens his lips with his tongue before laying a wet kiss, sexy and too vulgar on his nipple after he’s unfastened the button of his shirt and chucked it off somewhere by the bed "Can I? I need to- feel you” he chuckles stupidly because he’s still somehow scared that it’s all a dream, Zayn’s body, his eyes and hands, his sweet and fragrant scent- all of Zayn.

“Let me” he urges leaning on his elbows, hooking his leg around the one of Zayn and flipping them over, Zayn going easily down and flopping on the bed, his hair messy on the white sheets. Liam’s heart is beating in his throat as he leans in, pressing his forehead to the one of Zayn

“You’re staying” he murmurs and Zayn nods, shifting a little to bite a mark on his shoulders and Liam’s arms tremble as he groans

“Yeah, I’m here with you, right next to you” Zayn sucks a kiss on his neck with malice almost and Liam moves away when Zayn’s fingers unbuckle the band of his trousers and pushes them off till they’re off.

“Oh shit” they moan, the friction between their lengths already unbearable. Liam stops to watch his chest, he traces the wings and presses a kiss to the red lips there just under his collarbone

“You always- I had to” Zayn groans when Liam bites there

He returns up looking at the deck of cards and his initials, he looks up to the Arabic moaning when he rubs along the line of Zayn’s cock, their joggers still on and rubbing mercilessly on their skin.

“I remember this” he whispers watching Zayn smile, his lashes long and shadowing his cheeks

“Be true to who you are, right?” he tries to recall

Zayn nods chuckling when Liam presses his thumb on the  _tacky_ heart tattoo on his waist “I can’t believe you” he touches the gun tattoo by his hip and he smiles at the  _Don’t think I won’t,_ he returns to the skull tattoo and the  _Friday?_  By the hollow space between his collarbone and neck.

“Kiss me” Zayn urges bucking his hips and Liam grits his teeth holding his breath as he comes down inhaling the scent of Zayn’s perfume making his heart race as they brush their lips together, soft and lovely against his own. And his mouth is the same as he remembers, he tastes like past and future, the strawberries he chewed and a hint of Chardonnay he sipped from his glass while they were sitting on the roof of 230 Fifth with Harry and Louis standing by the edge of its building, the cold breeze of the night hitting their skin.

" _Tell me I’m the one thing you keep on your mind_ " Zayn sings with a grin on his face. Liam eyes shine, he cannot breathe and he’s watching the erection of Zayn as if hypnotized as he slips down his joggers.

At some point he realizes that Zayn has happened, he happened at eighteen, but he transcended through time. There is a small explosion, the weakest noise just inside his rib cage and suddenly, as he was there just for him, almost unknown, as a secret beautiful and precious, Zayn sings to him. It feels like an unprecedented microscopic burst that forces him to want to open his mouth and drop out those words. Those exact words.

Then is sighing and gasping and praying, because Zayn pulls him in and is kisses him, because it's all perfect and then Liam feels even more urgent the need to tell him, tell him: Zayn, I love you.

It’s almost endless but in their slowness Liam lubricates and pushes his fingers inside of Zayn’s hole, it takes a while, Zayn whimpers and spreads his legs apart even more baring himself to Liam. Zayn goes wild with pleasure, moans, and enjoys the feeling almost intoxicating Liam bumping its opening and hitting his prostate.

Pants, nods, demands. They both want more. His legs are open until Zayn can’t catch a breath, Liam feels as if he could give his heart out, but he does not care because he wants Zayn increasingly in, getting stronger, longer and longer and also wants his grip on Zayn’s cock to form an imprint, he goes faster his eyes blurring with the craze of desire, hopelessly cancelled in the pleasure. It all becomes even more absurd, even more exciting when, without even realize it, Zayn moves his hands from his shoulders to his ass, spreading them, to reach with his fingers to the line between the swell of his cheeks.

"Liam" Zayn chokes between gasps, groans, screams and rather explicit rasps "more."

Liam has never felt so helpless and so excited together. With the skilful and soft hands of Zayn on his ass and his mouth on his neck to torture him, Liam cannot help but to comply with the request pushing deeper with a chasing feeling of liberation.

The awareness of what he wants captures him as a fulminant disease and uncage-able virus. Not painful, but chronic. When Zayn starts clenching rhythmically, his chest beaded in sweat and glistening under Liam’s gaze, Liam shoots inside him, and he knows with no margin for error they're both crazy, completely annihilated by their pleasure.

 _I love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, Liam_. Is there another way to express something so simple? Is there another formula to say what Zayn feels, what he is consuming, what it would mean right now playing with Liam’s hair? Zayn would only be able to put into words what he feel: pull it off. Throwing it out.

Suddenly Liam finds himself thinking, his lips resting on his chest to moan inadvertently, that there is nothing more beautiful than an  _I love you_ heard to understand it. A sincere  _I love you_ , he thinks, could save a man from death. An _I love you_ is the most sacred that exists. The  _I love you_ that Liam with all his might from his lips against Zayn's chest is all for which he thinks he was born for.

 

He wins the case, but there’s nothing comparable to the feeling that booms in his body when he sees Zayn opening his eyes in the morning, a smile and the promise of an “I’ll stay right next to you, Liam” when he kisses him basking in the sunlight of a wonderful new day.

 

**Author's Note:**

> "How Sweet It Is" and "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" by David Ryan Harris prompted this, so my thanks go to him, I guess. He could kill me tbh, I wouldn't care.  
> Thank you for reading this.  
> (And... Dammit, I wanted to make it humorous and look at what Zayn and Liam did wth.)


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